Holy war can seem like something that happened long ago or that happens far away  the Crusades of medieval Europe, for example, or jihadists fighting secular forces today. But since their countrys founding, Americans have often thought of their wars as sacred, even when the primary objectives have been political.

This began with the American Revolution. When colonists declared their independence on July 4, 1776, religious conviction inspired them. Because they believed that their cause had divine support, many patriots ardor was both political and religious. They saw the conflict as a just, secular war, but they fought it with religious resolve, believing that God endorsed the cause. As Connecticut minister Samuel Sherwood preached in 1776: God Almighty, with all the powers of heaven, are on our side. Great numbers of angels, no doubt, are encamping round our coast, for our defense and protection.

Several founding fathers were more theologically liberal than the typical evangelical Protestant of their day. Still, few were anti-religious, and the nations architects often stated that religion supported virtue, which was essential to patriotism.....

This began with the American Revolution. When colonists declared their independence on July 4, 1776, religious conviction inspired them. Because they believed that their cause had divine support, many patriots ardor was both political and religious. They saw the conflict as a just, secular war, but they fought it with religious resolve, believing that God endorsed the cause. As Connecticut minister Samuel Sherwood preached in 1776: God Almighty, with all the powers of heaven, are on our side. Great numbers of angels, no doubt, are encamping round our coast, for our defense and protection.

Several founding fathers were more theologically liberal than the typical evangelical Protestant of their day. Still, few were anti-religious, and the nations architects often stated that religion supported virtue, which was essential to patriotism.....

Every participant on the American side commented on the role played by Providence. The outcome of any war has its share of “lucky” coincidences and the Revolution (Major Andre’s chance capture with the plans to West Point comes to mind) seemed to have more than its share.

If the Revolution was a war of Religion who won? The Crusades were mentioned so the Crusaders killed the Jews and muslims in Jerusalem and established their religion. Most religions are allowed here especially now. The Boston Tea Party was over taxation and lack or representation.

5
posted on 07/07/2013 9:00:16 AM PDT
by mountainlion
(Live well for those that did not make it back.)

Folks, religion did play a part in the Revolutionary War. Let's face it though, religion played a major part in many things in this nation's history. We were a religious people. We believed in the Christian God and acted accordingly. What we saw as fit, was for us divinely inspired.

Okay, we should accept that. Now, what is the take-away?

Was this nation founded in a Holy War? No. Don't even think about attributing it to that. Let me explain why.

This is the Washington comPost. Is the comPost a fan of Christianity? Is it a fan of our nation's founding? Does it believe in our Founders, Founding Documents, and the Christian based ideals our nation has stood for since it's inception? NO!

This is a thinly veiled effort to tie our founding to something the Left thinks it can dismiss on issues of validity.

There is a movement brewing that tries to make the case our nation should never have been created. I have a number of four letter words in my mind, that I'll keep reserved there to apply to these efforts.

Be aware of it. Reject this notion.

Our nation has meant a lot to the free world. It must never be belittled into insignificance, or the whole world suffers. Even evil enterprises like the Washington comPost will suffer. Ignorance is bliss, and the folks at the comPost are euphoric in their blind-eyed simpleton's existence.

There is a movement brewing that tries to make the case our nation should never have been created. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It's been brewing since before Bill Ayers was born.

It **is** being fed to the children attending our nation's godless socialist-entitlement K-12 schools and godless colleges and universities.

Remember: Nearly all the teachers and professors in this nation were trained by godless MARXISTS in their godless Marxist dominated and controlled colleges and universities.

Do conservatives continue to send their children into these pits of evil? Yes!

Do conservatives do much to provide educational alternatives to the nation's children or to shut down these socialist and godless indoctrination centers? NO!

And....Every school day conservatives feed the hearts and minds of their OWN children to this godless educational Moloch. Will God save this nation? I doubt it. He rarely saves people from the consequences of their agency to do evil.

I’m not sure my Mexican gardener would agree, because he sure got religion when he showed up on Independence Day. He got a bit of a lecture with a flag in his face, lucky it wasn’t somewhere else, as well as probably lucky I forgot my pocket constitutions. At least the awkward question of if he’s a legal citizen was answered. Not a brilliant idea to show up at a DAR’s house unless the plan is to do a flag design with my plants.

People in the colonies didn’t hate England or being English before the war. Many weren’t even active in the Revolution. Many left after it was over.

They hated a distant parliament that was tone-deaf to the concerns of what were basically Englishmen without acknowledged representation in government but with obligations to furnish the state revenue and obedience.

The Constitution, sir, had nothing to do with the American Revolution, except as a byproduct, an effort to put into practical terms the natural and fundamentally “religious” statements of our true founding document, The Declaration of Independence, after that independence was won through battle.

I believe the Declaration to be a profoundly “religious” statement in it’s opening paragraphs, although with a decidedly “Enlightenment” view of religious issues, not a denominational one. The rest of the Declaration is, as is aptly said elsewhere on this thread, the more proximate, practical cataloguing of crap, up with which the Colonists were no longer able to put, and over which about 3% ultimately went to war, with the backing of about a third of the population.

21
posted on 07/07/2013 9:45:46 AM PDT
by dagogo redux
(A whiff of primitive spirits in the air, harbingers of an impending descent into the feral.)

The declaration of independence more or less said were tired of your crap. Freedom from English crap was the reason for the revolution.

Exactly! The DoI contains a long list of grievances and attempts to find solutions that were all rejected or ignored. Reading that it becomes obvious that there was virtually no aspect of life that the Brits were not trying to control and being insufferable pricks doing it.

24
posted on 07/07/2013 10:02:20 AM PDT
by TigersEye
("No man left behind" is more than an Army Ranger credo it's the character of America.)

No, it was an economic war in that the colonists saw that "debt capitalism" (oxymoron) works. It wasn't just the idea of a nation observing "Christian" principles (Protestant morality) and subscribing to social morality being taught from the pulpit -- sayin that The USA is an outcome of appling Calvinism and Presbyterian counsel. That approach ignores three major infuences:

John Locke

His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence

William Blackstone

Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769)

Adam Smith

The latter, usually abbreviated as The Wealth of Nations, is considered his magnum opus and the first modern work of economics. Smith is cited as the "father of modern economics" and is still among the most influential thinkers in the field of economics today

(All combined in the Pilgrims)

Without whom USA would not exist. None of these would have been allowed to draw breath under Romanism or Islamism.

29
posted on 07/07/2013 10:44:06 AM PDT
by imardmd1
(An armed society is a polite society -- but dangerous for the fool --)

Speaking of the American Independence War, one basic very profitable economic triangle is said to be:

Item 6:

6 the backbone of new england's economy during the colonial period. ships from new england sailed first to africa, exchanging new england rum for slaves. the slaves were shipped from africa to the caribbean (this was known as the middle passage, when many slaves died on the ships). in the caribbean, the slaves were traded for sugar and molasses. then the ships returned to new england, where the molasses were used to make rum.

Was this a holy basis for a war?

(Remember, at this time alcoholic beverages were not generally seen as being a debilitating influence in society by religionists)

33
posted on 07/07/2013 11:00:16 AM PDT
by imardmd1
(An armed society is a polite society -- but dangerous for the fool --)

I had a professor who believed without Calvin and Knox there would have been no Revolution.

Last Sunday I spoke at my Lutheran church, and I said that the reason the American Revolution succeeded in securing liberty for the people when all other revolutions, from the French Revolution on, have resulted in chaos, followed by a tyranny worse than before, is that the American Revolution was not a revolution: it was a Reformation, a desire to bring Britain back to its original Protestant-based popular-liberty ideals, just as Luther's Reformation was a desire to bring Christianity back to its original salvation-through-Christ's-merit ideal. In both cases, there was a list of grievances, the 95 Theses that Luther wanted to discuss, and the list in our D. of I. that the colonists had tried to discuss. In both cases, there was no desire at first to break off the relationship: the colonists didn't want to leave Britain until the King's reactions made it imperative, just as Luther didn't want to leave the Catholic Church until the Pope's reactions made it imperative. In both cases, the ultimate result was a reformation and reconciliation on both sides: the American government became a popular republic, as did the British government, and the Anglo-American friendship (Obama's actions notwithstanding) is as strong today as ever; the Reformation led to the Counter-Reformation which dealt with the more egregious issues, and the Catholic-Lutheran friendship (the action of theological liberals not withstanding) is as strong today as ever. Revolutions always fail; reformations always have a chance of success.

34
posted on 07/07/2013 11:11:41 AM PDT
by chajin
("There is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12)

it was in the same sense the magna carta and other rebellions against the king were up to that point. they bsically asserted rights came from GOD, the king was human,’co dn’t take them away, and had legitimate power so long as he acted in acordancce ith Godly righteousness, and if he didn’t the people had various levels of remedy they coud use against the king up to removal - or in the colonies’ case, parting ways.

the american revolution was a christian revolution, they tried for decades to work with the king for representation, many officers were preachers who had their uniforms under their robes and they called up men right in their churches. it wasn’t a get even revolution. the french had a godless revolution based in secular reasoning and revenge, and anyone who wasn’t enough on their side was guillotined, including some of their own’leaders who after awhile said they were going too far.

our documents and charters have lasted 240 years. the french have gone through at least 20 constitutions since the 1790s.

Okay, so now the American Revolution was a religious war. And when activist justices were deciding the constitutonality of constitutionally indefensible Obamacare in 2012, it was being said that the Boston Tea party as it concerned unfair taxes is what triggered the American Revolution.

So which is it where the American Revolution is concerned, religious issues or tax issues or both?

actually i’d probably look at liberty counsel or any christian religious sites that are genuinely biblical. if you have any christian tv stations on air around you that deal with the subject via special speakers events and such you’ll find some links. good christian bookstores will probably carry some texts.

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